Fashola’s constructive apology

You do not need to be tutored in linguistic science to interpret correctly the apology, which Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State is said to have tendered to the Igbo over the deportation of some of their kinsmen. But if for any reason you do not understand the content of that apology, I offer here to put it in a straitjacket.
Fashola was reported, on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary symposium of Aka Ikenga, while alluding to the vexed issue of the deportation of some Igbos from Lagos, to have offered an unreserved apology to those who misunderstood the action of his government. But the apology came with a ready caveat. The governor raised pertinent questions which he charged  Aka Ikenga and, indeed, the rest of Nigeria, to address. These are the questions: “why should people feel compelled to emigrate from one place to the other? Is there one part of this country that is less endowed, whether in human or natural resources? Is it the case that, perhaps, some parts are so endowed or not adequately managed? Fashola said these questions form the bedrock of the debate that we must embark upon as a people.
To the casual reader or listener, Fashola has apologized to the Igbo over the action of his government. Such an analyst will readily go home with a trophy, feeling triumphant that Fashola has capitulated, after all. But a perceptive mind  will hardly miss the import of the governor’s  message. T o situate Fashola’s action, we must note that his administration is reputed to have improved the landscape of Lagos State tremendously. The governor himself has a passion for Lagos. That is why he has been making very spirited efforts at developing the state. This being the case, it should be expected that Fashola or the government he superintends over, will not brook any destructive influence on Lagos. No responsible or responsive government will go to sleep whenever miscreants or undesirable elements are exerting a negative pull on its efforts.
Fashola rose to the occasion in this regard when his government branded some people, rightly or wrongly, as destitute and went ahead to evacuate them out of Lagos. By that action, the government set out to  ensure the maintenance and sustenance of sanity in the state. But the action has since  polarized   the country the more, making Fashola to look like an ethnic bigot.
Fashola may not have explained his action in the way I have attempted to do here. But he has adopted a subtle or probing approach in dealing with the issues arising from  his action. He has simply said: accept my apology if you do not understand the reason for my action. He has not said that his action is wrong. His apology is therefore a constructive one. It is not direct or expressed. It  can only be inferred. You can only make sense out of it if you join him in finding answers to the questions he has raised.
Indeed, by raising those questions, Fashola was throwing the issue back to those who have been criticizing him. The man is saying that he is working hard to make Lagos a happy home for the people of Lagos state. He is wondering why other States of the Federation should not  aspire to be like Lagos rather than be dependent on it. Fashola is against the dependency syndrome which encourages the influx of people into Lagos State instead of staying back in their homelands and working hard to develop them and make them as attractive as Lagos. By his action, Fashola was telling the other governors to look inwards with passion and patriotism and improve their States so that their citizens will not be compelled to migrate to other States like Lagos where all manner of opportunities exist. When therefore some lgbos argue that their people contribute about 55 percent to the economy of Lagos State, Fashola will not be impressed. He does not even need that your huge contribution to the Lagos economy. He is saying that you should take that your energy, drive and industry  back to your State so that your homeland will also be attractive like Lagos. He does not  want you to suffocate Lagos all because you contribute maximally to the development of its economy.
Having understood Fashola, we can now deal with the questions  he has raised. The governor had asked: why should people feel compelled to emirate from one place to the other? Of course, there are a number of reasons for this. But the  operative word in Fashola’s poser is  ‘compelled’. If we contextualize the question, we will be saying that Fashola is interested in knowing why lgbos are usually compelled to migrate from their homeland to other parts of the country. Scholars of different persuasions have, over time, tried to pigeonhole this state of affairs. Even the legendry Chinua Achebe located the reason as partly lying in what he called ‘land hunger ‘that afflicts lgboland. There is disequilibrium between lgbo population and the geographical space that they inhabit. The very limited nature of their land mass, it is argued, forces them into territories outside their own.
In fact, Ojo Maduekwe, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Canada, once added a comic dimension to the issue when he hilariously remarked that lgbo economy is larger  than lgbo geography. He was making a case for a large and united Nigeria that will afford the lgbo the opportunity to expand outside lgboland. This is, however, a fanciful way of looking at the issue. But if we want to say it as it is, we will be saying that the lgbo migrate to other lands in droves because there are very limited opportunities for gainful employment in their land. The  Igbo have, over the years, blamed this state of affairs on the scorched earth policy which successive military regimes visited on lgboland following the fall of their dream Republic of Biafra.
I must say that we have had enough of such arguments. Such positions have become jaded and unattractive. The corollary to such arguments is that the Igbos should develop their territory rather than waiting for the government at the centre to do so for them. It was in recognition of this position that the World Igbo Congress (WIC), in its 2006 convention in Boston, Massachusetts , focused on introspective development of Igboland as a way out of the quagmire. The message from WIC may have been taken then, but it was never driven home.
The problem here is that the Igbo have not even harnessed their energy towards developing their homeland. If they develop their so- called small geographical territory and then spill over to other parts of the country, there will be sense in their action. When this is the case, Fashola’s Lagos will not be as choked up as it is with Igbo population. If Igbo land is developed by the Igbo, at least half of the population of the Igbo in Lagos will find space and opportunity in Igboland. This will, in turn, depopulate Lagos to the fancy and delight of the Fasholas of this world.
That naturally brings us to Fashola’s second question. Endowment, whether human or natural, is not a problem in Igbo land. The Igbo have both in abundance. The problem, I think, lies in Fashola’s third poser, that is, the proper management or lack of it of such endowments. The way things stand, Igboland remains backward because the people do not appear to be interested in developing their territory. They appear to have a mentality that finds comfort in inhabiting other people’s spaces. This tendency has caused the people so much in terms of life and property. But they do not appear to have learnt from history.
Now, Fashola is driving the message home. He is asking other Nigerian leaders, particularly those of Igbo extraction, to look beyond Lagos and remember their home lands. He is asking them to make as mush conscious effort as he in making in Lagos in ensuring the development of their territories. If they do, their indigenes in Lagos will return to their homelands and this will take some pressure off Lagos. If Lagos in under less pressure or is depopulated, it will be easier to manage and administer than the present herculean situation that Fashola and other governors of the State before him have had to grapple with. Fashola is asking for this relief and he wants those who do not understand this to do so. That is the essential content of his apology.